Latest news with #Mobilians
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Gov. Kay Ivey, Alabama Legislature honor Mayor Sandy Stimpson for Mobile's progress
MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — The Alabama Legislature and Gov. Kay Ivey honored Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson on Thursday for his years of service to the Port City. Mobile man killed in crash: ALEA Gov. Ivey signed House Joint Resolution 227, which highlights Stimpson's accomplishments as mayor. 'Mr. Stimpson reduced bonded indebtedness by nearly $210 million, drastically improved the city's credit rating, established and maintained a two-month rainy day reserve fund, made major investments into critical infrastructure, and raised the compensation for city employees to help with the recruiting and retention of critical personnel like first responders,' the resolution said. 'Mr. Stimpson and his team have executed several transformative initiatives, including an overhaul of Mobile's outdated zoning code, the creation of a nationally recognized program to reduce urban blight, a successful annexation effort that made Mobile the second-largest city in Alabama, a significant drop in major crimes across the city, and unprecedented growth in economic development and new jobs that will have a lasting impact on generations of Mobilians,' the resolution continued. The state legislature and Gov. Ivey also credited Stimpson for the , investing in Mobile's waterfront, purchasing the Brookley by the Bay property, constructing a passenger air terminal in downtown Mobile and millions of dollars of investments into parks, public facilities and other shared spaces across Mobile. 'I want to thank the members of the legislature and Governor Ivey for this recognition and for their steadfast support of Mobile throughout my tenure,' Stimpson said. 'The progress we've made has been the result of an extraordinary team at the City of Mobile and the strong partnerships we've built along the way. 'Being the mayor of my hometown has been the honor of a lifetime, and I am grateful to the citizens of Mobile and my family for their continued support, prayers and partnership.' Stimpson announced in September 2024 that he would not seek reelection for a fourth term as Mobile's mayor. Mobile police investigating Bayou Street shooting Mobile's municipal election is set for Aug. 26, and the city's next mayor will take office on Nov. 3. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Carnival Cruise Line to resume year-round sailings from Mobile
MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — Carnival Cruise Line will once again set sail year-round from the Port of Mobile starting in the spring of 2027, has learned. Storm damage and flooding reported in the News 5 coverage area Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, made the announcement today and outlined the company's plans to resume regular year-round service from Mobile. This follows a successful track record of seasonal sailings. 'As one of the highest-rated ports for customer experience and satisfaction, Mobile has continued to strengthen its relationship with Carnival and invest in the passenger facilities at the Mobile Alabama Cruise Terminal, most recently with a new gangway,' a news release said. Since 2023, the Carnival Spirit has offered a variety of itineraries from the port six months out of the year. 'The return to year-round sailings from the Port of Mobile is a testament to our relationship with Carnival and the incredible effort the staff at the Cruise Terminal puts in to making sure every passenger has an exceptional experience in Mobile,' Mayor Sandy Stimpson said. 'This is great news for Mobilians and the many businesses that rely on our city's thriving tourism industry.' Though Carnival has not revealed which ship will be based in Mobile for its year-round sailings, the Spirit is set to return for its usual seasonal schedule in October. Carnival's broader strategy includes serving 50 percent of the U.S. population living within a five-hour drive of one of its homeports, the release said. Clarke County shooting: 3 dead, 1 critically injured With a strong following across the Southeast, Mobile remains a key player in the cruise line's expanding regional network. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Local Mobile sorority visits Selma for ‘Bloody Sunday' 60th Anniversary march
MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — A bus was packed with passengers who were hoping to commemorate a day that shaped the history of the country. 'We really want to make sure we don't forget about the civil rights history in America but even more particularly in Alabama,' Amber Houston, Connect and Social Action Coordinator with Alpha Kappa Alpha said. Houston is one of the coordinators behind the community bus trip that took 55 Mobilians to Selma to take part in a reenactment march for the 60th Anniversary of Blood Sunday. The bus trip started off as an event for the members of the Alpha Kappa Kappa, a historically African American Sorority, but was later opened up to give others in the Mobile community an opportunity to relive history. 'I actually saw the Edmond Pettis Bridge, and I'm crossing, and I get to the peak, the pinnacle and I almost transformed into oh my god, 60 years and what if I was here could I have done it,' Houston said. It's a lesson taken to heart, even by those old enough to remember the event. 'In crossing the bridge, it just evoked memories of what I as a little girl saw on TV,' Felicia Wilson, Chapter President of Alpha Kappa Alpha said. 'These foot soldiers who knew the adversity that awaited them on the other side of that bridge still crossed it. ' Attendees ranged from ages 8 to 75. Each rider, returning to Mobile with a new perspective on progress and the sacrifices made in the name of justice. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Barbara Drummond files paperwork to run for Mobile mayor
MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — Alabama State Rep. Barbara Drummond has officially filed the paperwork to run for Mobile mayor, has learned. UPDATE: Family of man missing after boat capsizes on Mobile Bay hopes to get closure Drummond is a Mobile native who is currently serving as the state representative for District 103. She attended Murphy High School and the University of South Alabama before becoming a reporter with the Mobile Press-Register. Drummond was also the public relations director for both Mobile County and the City of Mobile. According to Drummond, she believes Mobile's best days are ahead. 'We need leadership that brings every neighborhood into the future,' said Drummond. 'This campaign is about bringing people together — young and old, lifelong Mobilians and new arrivals, small-business owners and working families — to build a city where everyone has the opportunity to thrive,' she said. Overturned vehicle on I-65 southbound in Mobile Drummond said she will be sharing more in the upcoming days. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Macron is imposing a shift to electric cars with a ferocious €90k Porsche tax
France is all but prohibiting the sale of over-powered, gas-guzzling SUVs and cars. It is taking full aim at over-sized hunks of heavy metal on wheels, even if electric. Status vehicles will become unaffordable unless you are seriously rich. But to flaunt wealth in France carries its own stigma, and its own risks. Setting fire to such cars is a relished rite on the eve of Saint Sylvester. If you think Britain's ZEV mandate is tough, note the astonishing tariff tucked away in the text of the new French budget, rammed through the national assembly this week by the decree power of Article 49.3 – the hallmark of the Macron era. As of next month, the tax on a Porsche Cayenne or a BMW X6 M will be €70,000 (£58,000), rising to €90,000 by 2027. That is a tax with teeth. The malus écologique (green charge) is a rising penalty based on grams of CO2 per kilometre. These start at 113 g/km this year, tightened to 103 g/m by 2027, with some hardship exemptions. That is already enough to capture two thirds of all cars currently sold in France. The tax on the workaday Renault Captur will double this year to €330, rising to €851 by 2027. The more powerful TCE 90 model will be close to three times that. Weight above half a tonne will be punished on a rising scale. Above two tonnes, the penalty will rise by €30 a kilo, adding about €1,200 to a Tesla X or €1,800 to a larger e-Mercedes SUV. That makes sense. Lithium, cobalt and steel do not grow on trees. The French car lobby Mobilians is furious. 'The whole sector is in a slump. Our production is the lowest since 1960, the plants have excess capacity and the market is more than 25pc below 2019 levels,' said Xavier Horent, its director-general. 'The country is drowning in a flood of social plans while the US and China leave us in the dust. Deficit spending is keeping the economy going without any structural reform. It is empty growth.' Mr Horent said the buoyant CAC 40, the benchmark French stock index, hides 'transferred risk' landing on smaller firms and contractors who are sinking into crisis and cannot save themselves by relocating abroad. 'The modèle français is only protected against a massive devaluation by the euro. Bureaucracy is wasting away our talents and we are paralysed by outdated nostrums: protection instead of risk, pensions instead of work, waffle instead of action. They think they can conjure away the threat of bankruptcy with more taxes. The surfeit of regulations has become pathological,' he said. We Britons can sympathise because we are struggling with the same aversion to enterprise and wealth-creation, the same pathological reflex of over-regulating and the same dreamy insouciance as China runs away with global manufacturing. The difference is that even Labour is trying to do something about it, leaving aside the horrors of its first, botched Budget. Sir Keir Starmer is pushing through a radical shake-up of the planning system, evident over the last two weeks in a muscular push for nuclear fusion and small modular reactors, which together put the UK back on the global map as a can-do nuclear nation. He is embracing artificial intelligence rather than trying to stop it as in Europe. Unlike many, I think markets will forgive this Government and the 2020s may prove to be a decade of recovery for the over-sold UK. I have yet to be convinced that Emmanuel Macron's France has grasped the nettle on anything, apart from sinful cars. A care-taker budget was finally passed this week amid universal exhaustion and seven months after his snap election paralysed parliament. But it slipped through precisely because it does nothing to control runaway state spending. 'This is not really an austerity budget, simply one that is less expansionary than in recent years,' said Charlotte de Montpellier, of think tank ING. Francois Bayrou, the French prime minister, himself said it was a dog's dinner. Extra taxes will make life even harder for French firms and minnows will receive a Reevesian battering, but the overall fiscal squeeze hardly moves the needle. The deficit will still be 5.4pc of GDP this year even if the economy bounces back from semi-slump conditions, which markets doubt. 'We find this hard to believe,' said ING. France will continue to stick out at a treacherous time when global bond markets are no longer willing to fund ageing post-industrial states living beyond their means. Goldman Sachs says Japanese investors have slashed their holdings of French debt by €26bn over the past six months. Woe betide all debtors if Chinese banks start to repatriate their €3 trillion of offshore holdings. ING said the Bayrou budget would push public spending even higher to 56.8pc of GDP, up from 56.6pc last year. At least Michel Barnier, the former French prime minister, made a stab at trying to reduce it, before he was defenestrated by the welfare Left and the national socialist welfare Right of Marine Le Pen. French public debt will rise to 115.5pc of GDP this year. The gap with Germany is growing ever wider, which raises a question: how far can the two anchor economies of the euro diverge before monetary union becomes untenable – or before Berlin says ça suffit? Above all, the budget eschews any serious surgery on the elephantine French state – and my goodness, it needs a full quadruple bypass. 'We think there are over 1,200 state agencies but nobody knows for sure, or knows what they do, not even the prime minister,' said Mathieu Darnaud, the Gaulliste leader in the Senate. He cites the overlapping functions of the countless bodies making life a daily trial for French farmers: the agency for national cohesion of the territories (ANCT), the service and payments agency (ASP), the subsidy agency (FranceAgrimer), the ecology agency (Ademe), the other ecology agency (Cerema) and so on. My family knows them well. They are the polite, well-meaning and befuddled companions of our livestock holding in Aquitaine. The farm inspection police, however, are on strike, distressed that they are not loved enough. It has been almost eight years since Mr Macron swept France touting his book revolution. He seemed to be a modern physiocrat, the Turgot of our age, brimming with energy and vowing to unleash French enterprise. He would shred the 3,000-page code du travail [workers' rights] and repeal 360 separate taxes, some dating back to the Bourbons, others even to the Valois. He would strike a grand bargain with Berlin, slashing the deficit and making France fit for euro condominium: in return, Germany would agree to an EU treasury and Hamiltonian debt-pooling. Mr Macron has won a few bets. He has pulled in a good haul of foreign investments. La French Tech has nourished a thriving ecosystem of AI, fintech, and ag-tech start-ups, though London and Cambridge have done so as well. And whether he meant it or not, cars in France are going to be admirably green. But at the end of the day, the French state is just as big today as it was when he took power. Public debt is 17 percentage points of GDP higher and flirting with a compound interest trap. The retirement age is still 64 and even that is not yet secure. France remains a great nation and will get its act together in the end. But political expectations are so low at this point that it is deemed a success merely to pass a budget without a vote of no confidence. So much promise has come to so little. 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